Andy Cooney

Andy Cooney (22 April 1897-4 August 1968) was Chief of Staff of the IRA from 12 November 1925 to July 1926, succeeding Frank Aiken and preceding Moss Twomey.

Biography
Andrew Cooney was born in Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland on 22 April 1897, and he left University College Dublin to join the IRA during the Irish War of Independence. He served as Commandant of the 1st Eastern Division of the Anti-Treaty IRA during the Irish Civil War, and he was captured in 1922 and released in 1924. In 1925, the Irish republican hardliner Cooney was installed as Chief-of-Staff of the IRA, succeeding the moderate Frank Aiken, and the IRA Executive was granted the power to declare war. In 1926, he departed on a fundraising trip to the United States and resigned as IRA chief after just eight months in office. He later emigrated to the USA and died in Maryland in 1968.